Great find: IKEA Trademark case solved with grace and a side of meatballs

Happy Friday to you! 5 posts in one week... don't get used to it, but I saw this news last night and just thought I would share it with you, just in case you had not seen it. Good news and happy endings should be perpetuated, don't you agree?

As you might know, I am a huge fan of IKEA. We have a ton of IKEA at our house and we just love to modify it to our needs. As you probably know, this has become known as IKEA 'hacking'. There is a whole website dedicated to hacking IKEA furniture too, IKEAhackers.net, a blog, which began in 2006, and is run by Jules Yap.

Back in March of this year, IKEA suddenly wrote a cease and desist letter to Ikeahackers.net due to "trademark infringement" asking her to terminate the website. They were essentially worried about their brand (according to an open letter they put in the Washington Post). Here is what one blogger wrote about it in response.

Then, what happened next was so amazing: IKEA decided to change their course of action, their way of thinking about this. In what I think was a strike of genius, they instead reached out to Jules to have her come to Sweden for a tour of all things IKEA. <--- her first of three accounts of her tour. I can't wait to read the rest.

I am excited to see what will come of this collaboration. This was by far a much better solution than the first knee jerk reaction. Aren't knee-jerk reactions so last century? Or maybe I just wish it were. I do feel that this was a much more elegant solution. And beneficial to all, including IKEA. A solution with grace, served up with a side of Swedish meatballs. (which I lovingly jabbed here)

Congrats Jules and also a HUGE thanks for featuring some of our IKEA hacks.